Using the Past to Become a Better Dad with Former NFL Player Billy Miller

Today we are psyched to have Former NFL player and Super Bowl Champion Billy Miller on The Dad Edge Podcast. Most of the time we only see sports stars on the field or getting interviewed after the game. They have to give their camera-ready answers about the team’s performance, but rarely do we see the husband, the father, or the man behind the athlete.

In this episode, Billy Miller opens up his world to us. He delves into his rough childhood as the son of two drug addicts, his battle against depression, and how he uses his difficult past as a reference to become the best dad he can possibly be. He also talks about maintaining a circle of intimate friends, co-parenting with his ex-wife, and how he keeps work separate from his family.

[bctt tweet=”‘We are built, as men, to change.’ – former NFL Player, Billy Miller @billymiller83 #men #dads #fathers #fatherhood #manhood” username=”gooddadprojct”]

Billy Miller

From the time Billy can remember, his parents were addicted to drugs. He’d wake up on a Saturday morning, make himself breakfast, lunch, dinner, go to bed, wake up, and do the same thing all over again for days. Billy was alone a lot and had to learn to take care of himself. He was forced to grow up quickly.

Billy’s dad was abusive to his mom and him. He also went to prison several times. Billy didn’t think anything of it because it became his normal.

As he got older, Billy moved to a much nicer area called West Lake Village. His new school was a total culture shock and a blessing for him. Billy is half white and half black, but he had never spoken a word to another white person except to his mom and his grandmother until he was thirteen-years-old.

In West Lake Village, Billy saw how parents could get along and how healthy families functioned. He realized very early how important being a father was. He noticed that every single word his father said resonated within him. He held onto this realization until he became a dad himself.

[bctt tweet=”‘It’s those moments where you’re becoming a reflection of your past that you know you’re doing the best learning of what not do to as a father.’ – former NFL Player, Billy Miller @billymiller83 #dads #fathers #men #fatherhood #legacy” username=”gooddadprojct”]

What You’ll Learn

• How Billy suffered a bout of deep depression after he was done playing football
• How depression helped him develop humility
• What you need in addition to the desire to change
• How we as men be better at asking for help
• How to be honest about how you feel with your kids
• How to show your kids how to be vulnerable
• How being competitive lessens the chances of a man’s success
• The trusted and honest relationship he had with his tribe of intimate friends
• How to start a men’s group
• How to deepen relationships with existing friends to go beyond the ordinary
• About Billy’s divorce
• How he coparents with his ex-wife
• How couples can coparent peacefully and successfully even if they don’t get along
• Why he didn’t talk to his brother for a long time
• Why he hates when dads are not involved
• How to not bring stress home to your kids, even when under the pressure of a job like playing in the NFL
• How to come home and be superman

[bctt tweet=”‘Don’t wait till the last minute. Don’t wait to the bottom of the bottom to ask for help.’– former NFL Player, Billy Miller @billymiller83 #men #depression #stress #mentalhealth” username=”gooddadprojct”]